Swiss chemist Michael Graetzel, noted for his discovery of a new solar cell that’s easier and less costly to produce than silicon-based cells, has won the first $50,000 Leigh Ann Conn Prize for Renewable Energy from the University of Louisville.

Michael Graetzel

Graetzel, professor and director of the Laboratory of Photonics and Interfaces at the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, is recognized for merging nanoscience with photoconversion by developing a dye-sensitized solar cell known as the Graetzel cell. These cells convert sunlight into electricity using earth-abundant materials at efficiencies exceeding thin-film silicon-based cells but with dramatically lower production costs. Mass production of the cells began in 2009.

Graetzel holds more than 50 patents and has written two books and more than 1,200 publications. His work makes him one of the most highly cited chemists worldwide, and his concepts have spawned hundreds of research groups and multiple conferences.

In spring 2014, Graetzel will visit Louisville to give a public talk about his winning work and participate in other events. He will receive the Conn Prize medal and the award, which recognizes outstanding renewable energy ideas and achievements with proven global impact.

“Dr. Graetzel is the international leader in making solar energy more efficient, practical and affordable. The University of Louisville values his research, and we are proud that he is the first winner of the Leigh Ann Conn Prize,” said UofL President James Ramsey, who will confer the award.

The prize, managed by UofL’s Conn Center for Renewable Energy Research, is named for the late daughter of Hank and Rebecca Conn, who are center supporters and the prize benefactors.

“Recognizing renewable energy innovations of such high caliber is a wonderful way to memorialize Leigh Ann,” said Hank Conn, a UofL engineering and business alumnus. “We are excited because the science is proven and it’s being translated into the world. The choice of Michael Graetzel mirrors the work conducted at the Conn Center and reinforces everything we’ve strived for these past five years. She would be proud.”